September 14, 2026; Genesis 26:34-35 and 27

Daily Dose of Hope September 14, 2026   Scripture: Genesis 26:34-35  & 27   Prayer: Holy God, We rejoice in your name today.  You are almighty and wise, the Alpha and the Omega.  You are the one who was, and is, and is to come.  We give you all the glory and praise.  Help us now, Lord, gather our scattered thoughts and focus on you.  In these next few moments of silence, hear our prayers...  In Your Name, Amen.   Welcome back to the Daily Dose of Hope, the devotional and podcast that complements the New Hope daily Bible reading plan.  We are currently doing a deep dive into the book of Genesis.  Today's reading is the very end of Genesis 26 and the full chapter of Genesis 27.   It's easy to wonder why God chooses to bless some of the guys in Genesis.  Take Jacob, for instance.  He and his mom devise a plan to deceive Isaac, his dad.  Disguised as Esau, wearing his brother's clothes, and attaching animal skins to his arms and neck, Jacob offers his father a savory meal to replace the one that Esau was supposed to prepare for him.  Jacob then lies to his blind and dying father, saying, "I am Esau your firstborn.  I have done as you told me; now sit up and eat of my game, so that you may bless me."  Isaac at first seems to know that something is up; he says that the voice seems to belong to Jacob.  But he goes ahead and offers Jacob his blessing.    When Esau finds out what has happened, he is devastated.  He mentions another meaning of Jacob's name, deceiver.  He says something like, "Is he not rightly named Jacob?  For he has now deceived me two times.  He took away my birthright and now he has taken away my blessing."    Jacob seems to cross every line that presents itself.  There is no rule or relationship that is beyond him.  If he wants something, he will get it.  He doesn't mind messing up the line of inheritance and the chain of blessing.  He isn't worried about disrespecting his father or hurting his brother.  He appears to only be interested in himself.  The weirdest thing to me is that his mom is complicit in the whole thing.  Favoritism is always bad news.   But even though Jacob has tried to steal every advantage with mom helping him all the way, life doesn't turn out so well for him.  If he is seeking an advantage, it doesn't come.  As we are about to see in the next few chapters, Jacob will meet his match with his Uncle Laban who is also a deceiver.  And then his own sons will deceive him after they sell Jacob's youngest son and their brother into slavery.  Jacob ends up getting a taste of his own medicine big time.  For us as the readers, there is no satisfaction in any of it, only heartache.    But there is something we will learn from Jacob.  God is going to use him.  God is going to take this deceitful man who lies to his dad and openly tries to harm his brother, and form him into someone who will serve and work for God.  Jacob is going to have to go through the mill but he is going to meet God in some pretty incredible ways.  God can change and transform anyone.  We get to see that over and over again in Scripture.   The other thing that we will see is that the Bible doesn't sugarcoat people.  Scripture is very open about people's flaws and brokenness.  In many ways, this gives me a weird sense of encouragement.  God doesn't need perfect people.  In fact, his specialty seems to be broken, messed up people.  And if God can use all of these people, then he can also use you and me.  And while I don't want to be a deceiver like Jacob, I know I have my own flaws and sins.  And I love that God can still change me and use me.  In fact, I pray that he will.  Thank you, God, for being a God who is still in the business of transforming lives.   Blessings, Pastor Vicki